Fading Twilight
by Vialco
Summary: A coda for the Season Two Finale. Darth Vader emerges from the ruins of the Sith Temple and reports his success to his Master.


A cold and fierce wind swept over the barren surface of Malachor. The howling gale swirled the bone-white ash that covered the flat topography of the planet, lasting all standing fixtures with biting force. Stepping into the game from one of the craters that pockmarked the surface came Darth Vader.

The black-armored form of the Sith Lord emerged into Malachor's harsh sunlight, the bright rays glinting off his gleaming armor that was now pitted with burn holes and scorch marks.

Vader staggered across the barren landscape, his left leg moving more slowly than his right. As the Dark Lord stepped further into the light, the state of his body became more visible. The black armourbearer that encased Vader's legs had been burned away by the blast that had shattered the underground Sith Temple. Exposed circuitry sparked from the bare metal of Vader's prosthetic leg.

A low wheezing sound emanated from the Sith Lord's helmet and he limped further away from the ruins of the Sith Temple that lay beneath the harsh landscape. A familiar sound reverberated through the sonic receivers in Vader's helmet and he looked up for the first time since exiting the subterranean complex.

A single eye narrowed visibly at the sight above, it's pupil an angry yellow, colored so by the all-consuming power of the Dark Side of the Force. Glaring out from the the gaping vertical slash on the right side of his helmet, Darth Vader looked up at a trio of Imperial Star Destroyers.

The slate-grey warships hung in the low atmosphere, dozens of TIE fighters and drop ships swarming from their hangar bays. Many of the smaller ships flew across the horizon, scouting for any Rebel stragglers, but one shuttle descended swiftly, heading straight for Vader's location along with a TIE fighter escort.

The Dark Lord raised his masked head and stared up at the approaching ship. The Lambda-class shuttle glided down to a landing a half-dozen meters away from the Sith Lord's position, it's wings folding up into a vertical configuration.

A gangway extended swiftly and a dozen white-armored stormtroopers marched down, accompanied by a single black-suited ISB agent.

Vader's visible eye narrowed in recognition.

"Agent Kallus."

The Imperial Security Bureau agent inclined his head in a gesture of subservience.

"Lord Vader," he said grimly, "We received your signal."

His gaze swept over Vader's battered form, "Do you require medical attention?"

"Take me to the command ship," Vader responded brusquely, straightening his injured body and striding past the ISB agent towards the waiting shuttle.

Kallus nodded sharply.

"Search the surrounding area," the agent ordered, "There may be Rebel survivors in the catacombs."

"No."

Vader came to a halt before the shuttle ramp but did not turn around.

"No Rebels remain on this planet. Nothing living remains in that complex."

Kallus nodded and again and ordered the stormtroopers off. Vader boarded the shuttle without further comment and did not look back.

The ship rose off the surface, repulsorlifts firing and smoothly sailed through the short atmospheric gap between the ground and the command Star Destroyer's main hangar.

A loud clank signified touchdown and the ramp extended immediately. A loud rumble from his helmet prefaced Vader's arrival and he strode down the ramp, tattered cape ripping in his wake.

A slim grey-uniformed officer awaited him in the hangar.

"Lord Vader," he said in a clipped tone, "Admiral Konstantine sends his regards. He awaits you on..."

The man's words trailed off as he took in the damage to Vader's helmet and the one visible eye that glowed an inhuman yellow.

"M-my Lord!"

The officer stammered, "Do you require medical attention?"

Fury surged up in Vader, his roiling anger at the escape of the Rebels was fed by the pain of his injuries. He glared at the officer, his visible eye burning an angry yellow-red with the power of the Dark Side. His right hand rose, the black-gloved metallic fingers curling into a claw.

The officer gave a startled gurgle and his hands went to his throat, trying in vain to release the invisible force squeezing his trachea.

"Recall all search craft and have the fleet withdraw from the planet. Do not enter hyperspace until I give the order."

Vader squeezed the officer's throat for another moment with the Force, then let his hand fall back to his side, releasing the Force Choke.

The officer wheezed and gasped for breath, but managed to execute a shaky nod before heading for the bridge.

Vader took a painful breath and strode towards a command turbolift. The elevator car shot up into the command section of the Star Destroyer and brought the Dark Lord to his private quarters in short order.

Vader unlocked the door with a flick of the Force and entered the sparsely furnished chamber. The walls were the standard Imperial steel-grey and at the center sat a large black-domed holoprojector.

Standing before it, Vader made a slight gesture with his black-gloved fingers and activated the holcomm unit built into the projector with the Force, transmitting a triple-scrambled signal to the Galactic Capital, on the most secure frequency in the galaxy.

After a mere five seconds, the projector hummed to life and a great blue image genied into existence before Vader.

Given form by scanning lasers and imaging holograms, the image was of the head and shoulders of a man, enlarged to nearly three times its normal size.

The best equipment in the Empire, the holoprojector rendered the image in perfect detail and every feature of the man was visible.

The man's head was covered in a dark zeyd-cloth cowl that was drawn down over his skull, but left his eyes and face exposed. Eyes that shone a sickly yellow, the irises glowing with the unnatural color. The man's face was deeply creased and wrinkled, and as his eyes gazed upon Vader, his aged features twisted in a malevolent smile.

Emperor Palpatine, Ultimate Ruler of the Galactic Empire looked down at his apprentice.

For a moment, Vader met his master's piercing gaze. And then, knowing his place, he dropped to one knee, his damaged cybernetic legs screeching in protest.

The Emperor's smile grew even wider and Vader could feel his Master's Force presence reaching out across the thousands of light-years that separated them to touch Vader through the Force.

"Lord Vader," the Emperor said in a soft sibilant voice, "Was your mission to Malachor a success?"

Vader raised his masked head to meet his Master's gaze.

"Yes, my Master. The Sith Temple was destroyed. It will never be used against our Empire."

Palpatine's glowing eyes bored into him, and Vader could feel his Master's presence brushing subtly against his mind, black tendrils of Dark Side power slithering against Vader's mental defenses almost imperceptibly.

"And what of Skywalker's Apprentice?"

Palpatine inquired in a rasping voice, "What has become of Ahsoka Tano?"

Vader clenched his right hand in anger, the damaged metal grinding under the pressure.

"Ahsoka Tano is no more," Vader answered in his deep basso voice.

For a moment, there was silence between Vader and his Master, as the two Sith Lords strove against each other through the Force. Vader had learned much about shielding his thoughts however, after a decade and a half of Sith Apprenticeship.

After another moment of mental pressure, Palpatine relented, his lips flattening.

"Tell me, Lord Vader, did our rebellious Togruta share any information as to the whereabouts of any Jedi stragglers before you ended her miserable existence?"

Vader shook his masked head ever so slightly.

"No, my master. She believed the Jedi to be no more."

Palpatine's smile returned to his withered features, "She was correct."

His golden eyes shone with malevolent satisfaction, "We saw to that together, my friend."

Darth Vader said nothing, his black helmet lenses gazing back at his master, the inky black depths revealing nothing.

Palpatine stared at his apprentice for another moment and then seemed to shrug at Vader's lack of enthusiasm.

"And now that we have dealt with the matter of your former apprentice, let us turn to the matter of mine."

The dark sovereign's voice took on a dark tenor, "I have reviewed the report made by the Fifth Brother. Maul has been found at last."

The blue light from the Emperor's hologram glinted off Vader's black helmet.

"All three of the Inquisitors are dead," Vader remarked indifferently. He'd never agreed with his Master's decision to train a handful of moderate Force-wielders as seeker hounds. The Sith way was that of Two. One Master and One Apprentice. There was no room for any others.

"A negligible loss," Palpatine said dismissively, "They served their intended purpose."

"They were weak," Vader said, his temper beginning to seethe, "The Dark Side is wasted on those cannot master its power."

Palpatine's eyes narrowed, "We have had this discussion before, my friend."

His voice grew sharp with anger, "Your hatred is wasted on our servants. The Inquisitors have proven their usefulness time and again. They exist to hunt down our prey and drive them out of hiding so that you may crush them."

"I require no assistance," Vader retorted, his voice equally sharp with restrained anger.

"Enough," Palpatine said in a soft silky tone that belied the way that the Dark Side itself shook in fury at the Emperor's anger.

Vader fell silent.

"You forget your place, my apprentice," Palpatine hissed.

"You forget who is Master and who is Apprentice."

The Sith Master's eyes burned with anger and power and he glared at his recalcitrant apprentice.

"Now," Darth Sidious said coldly, "Tell me what became of the former Darth Maul."

"I did not encounter him personally," Vader replied in a subdued tone.

He did not say more, but Palpatine gazed at him, the dark thought tendrils working their way across time and space to pluck thoughts from Vader's mind.

"He escaped the destruction of the Temple."

It was not a question.

"Yes," Vader replied, "One of the Inquisitor's starfighters fled the planet before the fleet arrived."

Sidious's lip curled in annoyance, "Very well," he said, "Maul has survived this encounter. But he has been exposed."

His voice took on the hard tone of command, "Dispatch one of the remaining Inquisitors to track him down."

Vader's temper flared at his Master's directive, but he remained kneeling and replied, "As you wish, my Master."

Sidious regarded him from thousands of light-years away.

"Is there anything else to report, my friend?"

"There was a Holocron in the Temple."

Palpatine's eyes narrowed, "Go on," he intoned.

"The Rebel Jedi had it," Vader said slowly, "I was unable to retrieve it from them."

"The Rebel...Jedi." Palpatine said in contemplation.

"They are weak and feeble," Vader rumbled, "The child was a fumbling learner and the former Padawan was blinded."

"And these feeble Rebels were able to leave Malachor with the Sith Holocron?" Palpatine asked silkily?

"I was...occupied," Vader replied angrily, "Skywalker's apprentice was a formidable opponent."

A hint of pride was visible in his basso voice and Palpatine picked up on it immediately.

"Do I hear a note of fondness in your voice, Lord Vader?"

Vader raised his head to stare at the shimmering hologram.

"No, my master."

"Remember that Anakin Skywalker is gone, my apprentice. This Togruta was his apprentice, not yours."

Vader grew angrier and the room began to shake with his rage.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak," he bit out, "I destroyed him."

"And from the ashes of Skywalker's corpse rose Darth Vader," Palpatine continued, the satisfied smile once again present on his ravaged face.

"You have done well, my friend. A powerful former Jedi destroyed, a former Sith Lord flushed out of hiding and two Rebel Jedi wounded and beaten."

The Dark Lord of the Sith looked down on his apprentice.

"Continue with your primary tasks, my friend. Leave these pathetic Rebels to their games. When they reveal themselves again and cross your path, you will destroy them once and for all. And when you do, Lord Vader..."

Palpatine's eyes glittered with desire, "Bring the Holocron to me."

Darth Vader bowed his head, "As you wish, my Master."

Darth Sidious grinned again, the smile looking sinister on his ravaged features. The hologram derezzed in a burst of blue light.

Taking a deep wheezing breath, Darth Vader forced himself to his feet, ignoring the painful protest from his cybernetic limbs. Rising, Vader turned away from the projector.

The door to the room opened and Vader looked out to the light-filled corridor outside. His one visible eye glanced out at the hallway, it's angry yellow iris flaring in response to the bright light. Moving forward, Vader strode towards the Star Destroyer's medbay to see to his injuries.

As he did, in the bright lights of the ship, his one visible eyes softened for a moment and turned from yellow to the clear soft blue that had once belonged to Anakin Skywalker.

Finis


End file.
